Thesis Statement: Homer has influenced writers of today with literary techniques such as his epic similes, his way using archetype, and his portrayal of women in his stories.
Source 1: "Odyssey, The." U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 778-784. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.
Homer uses epic similes as a way to pull certain points together.
Majority of the Homeric similes are used to create a juxtaposition for that intensifies the energy of what is being described.
Sometimes he uses similes more than once but in different ways, they might still mean the same but in a different context
for a lot of the similes in Homer's work you can clearly tell that *cleverness* is one of the main themes
odysseus is strong
odysseus often escapes trouble through being clever not brutal force
Homer uses odysseus's wit as a symbol of determination.
odysseus's journey takes ten years but he never loses sight of his goal; to return home to his wife and kingdom
his wife Penelope is a symbol of faithfulness, she never gives up hope that her husband will return
one if the best symbols is their bed which i think represents their marriage. (it was carved from a tree and still rooted in the ground)
odysseus describes their bed as a final test to prove his identity
odysseus embodies a spirit of adventure and travel
odysseus has been adapted in many forms
James Joyce's novel Ulysses was created from an archetype of odysseus
the Coen Brothers' movie "Oh Brother, Where art thou?" is another
the term odyssey has come to mean a great adventure that takes a long time and includes many different locations.
Stanley Kubricks' "The Space Odyssey" used that meaning
greeces famous government systems used Homer's epics as a precedent
the events and language of the story continue to echo strongly in today's literature.
countless artists, writers, philosophers, and politicials of the past 2 thousand years pf western history have acknowledged their debt to Homer.
Eminent eighteenth-century Irish author Samuel Johnson summed up the influence of Homer's work thus: “Nation after nation, century after century, has been able to do little more than transpose Homer's incidents, new-name his characters, and paraphrase his sentiments.”
Source 2: "Odysseus." U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Vol. 4. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 773-778. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.
The Homeric view of men shows interesting differences from later theories
the actions of the human characters in Homer's stories are represented as being influenced or manipulated more or less constantly by the gods
some actions are unexplainable, such as superhuman courage
these are attributed to the intervention of a god
created a starting place for fiction novels, where things happen that wouldn't necissarily happen in the real world
fought in the trojan war but only used his wits for the journey home
he has many relationships with multiple women while on a journey to get back to his wife...
while the males may have as many encounters with other women as they want, the wives are expected to stay faithful
symbol of mental power
he is shown to be strong but he is also cunning and clever
strong sense of mental power
danger of temptation is an important theme
tempted to stay with circe but decides to continue his journey home
"its crackling roots- blazed and hissed as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax in an ice cold bath and the metal screeches steam and it's temper hardens- that's the irons strength- so the eye of the cyclops sizzled round that stake."
odysseus compares the sizzling sound of the cyclops' eye to that of sticking fire-hot metal in cold water
"her mind in torment, wheeling like some lion at bay, dreading the gangs of hunters closing their cunning ring around him for the finish."
Penelope expresses her feel of helplessness by comparing the suitors to hunters and herself to a trapped lion,
the lion reference shows she still considers herself noble
"weak as the doe that beds down her fawns in a might lion's den - her newborn sucklings - then trails off to the mountain spurs and grassy bends to graze her fill. but back the lion comes to his own lair and teh master deals both fawns a ghastly, bloody death, just what Odysseus will deal that mob - ghastly death"
not a good time to be penelope's suitor, Odysseus is the lion. The fawns are the suitors. The suitors are about to learn an important lesson: make sure Odysseus is dead befor you hit on his wife, drink is wine, and insult his son.
"think of a catch that fisherman haul into a halfmoon bay in a fine meshed net fromt he white caps of the sea: how all are poured out on the sand, in throes for the salt sea, twitching their cold lives away in Helios' fiery air: so lay the suitors heaped on one another."
the pile of dead suitors is compared to dead fish piled on a boat, lying in the sun after a days haul. The simile conjures images of rot and decay, of stink, of death.
difference in treatment reflect the Homeric thesis that women are "different but equal in nature"
difference in treatment reflect the Homeric thesis that women are "different and unequal in nature"
arguments of mysogyny
difference in treatment reflect simple ignorance
homer's stories brought up the question, do we autimatically give credit to what we discover to males or females
homer's Odyssey is the product of a society in which men played the dominant role (Pomeroy 22). throughout history, women have retained a submissive role in society
for the longest time, society itself was organized and directed by men, and all of the most important enterprises were those that men implemented
women participated in the affairs of the world only when they had the permission of the men who directed their lives.
The literature of a of masculine society, of which Homer's Odyssey is an excellent example, aptly illustrates these social conventions. the themes of Odyssey are of interest to men; warfare, hunting, the problems of the warrior and ruler, and so forth.
themes of interest to women, such as domestic affairs, are not considered in this literature, or these themes are dealt with only casually"(Graham 6)
the odyssey is typically seen as a male dominated poem: the hero is male and the majority of the characters are male
even though the women are not main characters, in a way they are omnipresent and important in the story.
the women all play an important role: they all want to marry, help or hurt odysseus
he meets three women who want to marry him
Circe, Calypso, and Nausicca
mortal women are presented as controlled by the stereotypes and expectations of the culture of the day
in Homer's contex they are either admired or despised
the treatment of women can be characterized as sexist
treatment is based on appearance
most women were known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never their own
odysseus embodies the values of bravery, intelligence, and competency
odysseus devises a plan to escape the Cyclops by hiding under the giants sheep as they are put out to graze
the bed representing their marriage symbolizes a living and enduring thing with roots that give it strength even though they may not be seen.
Homer's deep thought out journey of odysseus may have set a precedent of people wanting to travel or go on odyssey's
the journey of odysseus could have also set a precedent of people not wanting to travel in order to remain safe.
In The Odyssey an old nurse saw past the disguise of the hero Odysseus when he finally returned home fom his long journey. He swore her to secrecy so he could surprise the men who sought his wife's hand in marriage.
that is another example of determination
invention of the trojan horse ended a bloody war in one night
symbols endurance
Homer portrays woman so that the only visable achievement would be their beauty
Penelope is payed attention to only because of her postion
to portray a better vision of the females, homer takes the actual power women have over men, and amplifies it in the odyssey by turning those feminine characteristics into power goddesses
odysseus doesn't act irrationally
contemplates his actions and their possible consequences
his wisdom and courage enable him to be a brave hero and a strong ruler
there's a rare instance when his pride supersedes his intellectual ability.
odysseus with penelope by side become archetypes not because they were cursed by the god but because they beat the gods
archetypes/role models are found in greek history through passed down stories
odysseus shows off his physical domination by participating in the athletic games
he also has a sensitive side- he hears a singer singing about the battle of Troy and cries.
Source 1: "Odyssey, The." U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Vol. 2. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 778-784. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.
Source 2: "Odysseus." U*X*L Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Vol. 4. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 773-778. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.
Source 3: "Treatment of Women in Homer's Odyssey." 123HelpMe.com. 29 Apr 2010
>http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=3606<
HOMERS PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN
Source 4: "herody Free Essays Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus as Heroic Archetype." 123HelpMe.com. 29 Apr 2010
<http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=2682>.**